A great view

I just finished reading Erich Segal’s “Acts of Faith” a few days ago.  Unputdownable.  I recommended it to my son who finished it in one afternoon and pronounced it “Gripping!”

While on the subject of religion, I must confess that I am an inveterate fence sitter – an agnostic.  Though born into a Christian family, I’ve always questioned blind, religious doctrine (though not, admittedly always out loud) since about age 10, perhaps earlier.  I didn’t like what I saw of the Church – the hypocrisy, the politics, the worship of Mammon.  As a result I was never a practicing Christian and stopped attending in my teens.

I did read up on the various world religions and found Buddhist teachings most attractive.  Buddha never really talked of God per se but of striving for balance in the various aspects of life.  Very appealing to my tottering high-wire act!  But when the question of committment arose, I backed off.  Why?  Because I believe that groups, especially reigious and ethnic ones, are the cause of the majority of the conflict historically the world over – a direct result of the “us versus them syndrome”.  Man does absolutely horrendous things to his fellow human beings when part of a group (that’s “mob psychology” in psychiatric parlance for you) that he wouldn’t have the gumption to do alone.

And so I remain a fence sitter, or a high wire artist if you like – at times an uncomfortable position as you can imagine – but the view is great!

© Sosha Srinivasan

Solution to overcrowded Indian metros?

In 2004 I read a page-long feature in The Hindu by a retired IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officet, K S Ramakrishnan, called ‘Taking Cities to the People’ where he talked about developing our tier II cities in an effort to “divert” our job seeking population from our main metros.  The full article can be accessed here.

Three years later, it seems the Indian government has finally begun work in earnest on such a project.  The International Herald Tribune recently carried a story by Anand Giridharadas that Nagpur, bang in the geographical center of our country, has been awarded the distinction of being the first town to be developed. 

© Sosha Srinivasan

Head for the hills!

I’ve been going on about the shrinking patches of green in the city in the face of progress.  What have I done about it?  Nothing much I’m afraid, except perhaps take time off to “smell the flowers”, “stand and stare”, enjoy the moment and, of course, vent on my blog.  I don’t think much can be done but retreat along with the green…  Pessimistic, huh?  Realistic, I think would be a better adjective.  You see, I think I know my fellow countrymen quite well.  As I mentioned earlier, the motto of the majority is “me, mine, and money”.

First, we must realize there is a vast difference between the developed West with their relatively low populations and India with her her sheer numbers pouring into the metros on a daily basis in search of jobs.  Over 50% of India’s population is under 25.  This is a vast resource manpower wise.  At the same time, it puts massive pressure on our cities’ infrastructure.  Public transportation is bursting at its seams, potable water is hard to come by and often has to be paid for.  However, youth in this age group grab the opportunities that come their way with both hands and the majority couldn’t care less about the environment and sustainable practices, even if they were made aware – their first concern is earning, their second, enjoying themselves.

What I do see, however is that school-age kids in their teens and even younger, especially those that are city based, are more environmentally conscious, and this translates into hope for the future.

So what am I doing in the city, you may ask.  The answer is common to all of us working age individuals – jobs are easier to come by in the cities.  Of course, I plan to head for the hills and work online from there as soon as I can – but that looks like at least 10 years down the line until my son is done with his education.

© Sosha Srinivasan

It’s Greek to me!

This is with reference to Hari Nair’s comment on my post, The Original Fold.

I have always believed names like Kuriakos, Paulos and Markos, which are almost exclusive to the Jacobite division of the Syrian Christian community, are of Greek origin.  (Yes, there are three divisions – the Marthomites, the Jacobites and the CSI (Church of South India) – but that’s another long story of politics in religion).  I think the Syrian Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church were/ are closely linked historically, and thus the crossover names.  Anyone out there who can confirm this?

The Jacobite Church, by the way, still conducts its services in archaic Syraic, while the other two do so in Malayalam and sometimes English.  Parishioners belonging to the three divisions do intermarry, so it is not an uncrossable schism.

© Sosha Srinivasan

Cycling

Morten, who is very active in the sustainable transportation arena in Europe, asked what percentage of the population uses bicycles in Chennai. I don’t have the figures off hand but good old Google got me this interesting link at www.peopleandplanet.net

I quote a paragraph from this page, of which the last line is absolutely mind boggling:

“The Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) now covers an area of 1177 sq. kilometres. The number of motor vehicles in the city has grown from 144,282 in 1984 to 1,674,185 in 2005. Between year 1992 and 2005 the number of motorised two wheelers increased from 433,046 to 1,266,114 and the number of cars has increased from 122,531 to 301,128. About 450 vehicles are registered every day in Chennai. That means 13,000 vehicles in a month and 160,000 a year.”

I have yet to see an adult from the middle or wealthier classes on a bicycle in Chennai. It’s mostly school-age kids who use bicycles, along with the economically weakest sections.

Chennai is dotted with BPO firms employing youth in the age group 18-25. They are mostly from the rural areas, working their first jobs in data entry. Initially they commute by either public transport or bicycle.  A year later they buy themselves cellular phones.  Next on their list is a 100 cc motorbike.

A number of school-age kids from the middle income group use bicycles to commute to and from school between 5th or 6th grade until about  the 9th or 10th.  Following that they start to cajole their parents into buying them 90 cc scooterettes.  Most parents give in to pester power, resulting in a group of underage, license-less teens driving on the roads.  The police turn a blind eye as their palms are greased manifold.

My son, 16 and about to enter 11th grade, is no exception.  He did begin to bug/beg me last year but I put my foot down – not until he gets an adult license at 18 and emphatically no vehicle dedicated for his use.  He cycles within a 6-8 km radius but somehow prefers to hoof shorter distances, literally following in my footsteps.

I was an enthusiastic cyclist in my college days in the Chennai of the mid 1980s, regularly pedaling 10-20 km a day.  But riding was a pleasure then.  At that time Chennai was a quiet, laidback city of broad, tree-lined avenues, that were invariably deserted after 8 pm  - very different from the chaotic traffic and awful air pollution of today.  Respiratory, eye and skin allergies are documented to be on the rise among our city dwellers.

© Sosha Srinivasan

Hell met?

I have had a motorized 2-wheeler license for close to 20 years (being one of the first women in the city to get one).  I know the arguments for the use of helmets and actually favor them, but have never worn one.  Why?  Because of the weather.  You’re damned if you do and you are damned if you don’t – either way it’s hell met.  The heat is bad enough without the helmet.  Irresponsible?  No, I just took a calculated risk and lived to tell the tale.

Only now, from the 1st of next month, helmets will be made mandatory in Chennai.  The city has been trying to implement this for the last few years – but had to give in to pressure from different quarters – even now there is a PIL filed against the order and most people think it may be scrapped.

Anyway, come what may, we have bought two helmets and have been slowly breaking them in over the last few days…  Perhaps I feel my luck is running out…?!

© Sosha Srinivasan

Alien Nation & the Bell Curve

This following is excerpted from “Hats, shawls and dubious deals” from Ardeshir Cowasjee’s column “View from Pakistan” in the Deccan Chronicle:

“Karachi: The expatriate community is all at sea. Its members cannot comprehend or work out exactly what is happening in their homeland. They are puzzled, they are confused. They are also disgusted. One e-mailer writes: “Having spent almost all my life as a second class expatriate, I have no home to come back to. The Pakistan that my forefathers created has no room for me as now I am a complete misfit. I cannot lie, cheat, bully or kill — the supreme criteria for being a true Pakistani. I just want to know how long are we going to survive like this as a nation?”"

Change the words “Pakistan” and “Pakistani” to “India” and “Indian” – and this may well be a cry from my heart. It is a sad fact, but true – this feeling of alienation from the majority of my fellow Indians.

I cannot relate to them – to an essentially petty attitude of pulling down, exploiting and stomping on, at every turn, those they see as even remotely “better” in any way. For what is lying, cheating and bullying but a reflection of pettiness?

There are the colleagues who twist the truth, trying to discredit you at every opportunity; the insurance agent who tries to unload on you the policy that gets him the highest commission; the linesman who demands a huge tip for shifting your landline, essentially part of his job (the threat of the line mysteriously going on the blink for extended periods hanging unspoken over your head).

I cannot subscribe to their mindless quest for things material. Materialistic? Indians? I can almost see the raised eyebrows, sense the sceptism… after all India is the home to so many religions and is seen as a spiritual land.

It may have been historically, but no longer. The older generation tries to gauge your net worth by asking pointed questions regarding property and assets owned and even remuneration. The youth are out for a good time with things their (and others’) money can buy. Flaunt it but chuck it when a new model enters the market seems to be the collective mantra – whatever it may be – cell phone or kitchen appliance, car or two-wheeler…

The levels of corruption and sheer wastage this country sees are staggering – and terribly saddening.

I am not generalizing – there are exceptions, as always – but we are all, I think, familiar with the bell curve…

© Sosha Srinivasan